🎬 This Week's Big Deals 🤝

👋 Good morning! Welcome aboard the Dailies.

Whether you're a seasoned subscriber or a new arrival, we're thrilled to have you here. Twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays, we'll deliver the most important industry scoops directly to your inbox.

🎞 Here’s what’s on the reel today:

• Tom Cruise’s New Deal

• Range Collabs with X

• Amazon Prime Video and MGM Studios Job Cuts

• Lionsgate's New Alternative TV Division

• Last Looks 👀: Bite-sized scoops on developing stories/projects

• Release Radar: What to watch this weekend

• Video Village 📀

• Martini Shot 🍸

But first, it’s Thursday, so let’s take a look at what people were watching this week… 👀

MOST STREAMED THIS WEEK

🌟🎥 Tom Cruise's New Warner Bros. Adventure: Tom Cruise is teaming up with Warner Bros. Discovery in a dynamic new deal to develop and produce a mix of original and franchise films. This “strategic partnership,” which is not exclusive, brings Cruise back to the studio where he had memorable roles in films like ‘Edge of Tomorrow’ and ‘Risky Business.’ Executives at Warner Bros. are excited about rekindling this relationship, aiming to create globally appealing blockbusters and potentially spawn sequels, enhancing the studio's repertoire and bottom line.

🎥🌐 Range Media Partners and X Collaboration: Range Media Partners, a major player in content creation, has teamed up with X, formerly known as Twitter, to develop at least 10 shows across diverse genres. This ambitious multi-year deal aims to transform X into a comprehensive media destination offering top-notch sports, news, and various audio-video content. X has also signed content deals with high-profile personalities like former CNN anchor Don Lemon, ex-Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, and sports talk show host Jim Rome. This deal marks a significant expansion for Range Media Partners, following investments from A+E Networks and a collaborative production agreement with FilmNation Entertainment.

🎥📉 Amazon Prime Video and MGM Studios Job Cuts: Amazon is implementing significant job cuts at its Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios divisions, impacting several hundred roles. This decision, announced by division head Mike Hopkins, is part of a strategic move to prioritize investments for long-term success, focusing on content and product initiatives with the most customer impact. The exact impact on specific divisions remains unclear. These cuts follow Amazon's previous layoffs of over 25,000 employees and are concurrent with over 500 job reductions at Twitch, Amazon's livestreaming platform for gamers.

📺🌍 Lionsgate's New Alternative TV Division: Lionsgate is expanding its television presence with the launch of Lionsgate Alternative Television, following its $375M acquisition of eOne. This new division merges Pilgrim Media Group, eOne’s non-scripted groups in the U.S. and U.K., and other studios like Blackfin and Renegade under the leadership of Craig Piligian. The division aims to bolster Lionsgate's unscripted programming, retaining individual market-facing labels while integrating production and operations. The management team includes top executives from these groups, positioning Lionsgate as a major player in the independent unscripted production sector. The division will house popular unscripted franchises such as ‘Naked and Afraid’ and ‘Selling Sunset.’

Development 🗒️

• Selena Gomez is set to star in Linda Ronstadt biopic. (more)

• Martin Scorsese announces a new film about Jesus Christ based on Shūsaku Endō's ‘A Life of Jesus.’ (more)

• ‘28 Days Later’ sequel, ‘28 Years Later,’ is currently in the works as part of a trilogy. (more)

• Bong Joon Ho’s ‘Mickey 17’ is delayed indefinitely. (more)

• Netflix secures Lena Dunham's spy drama 'Covers.’ (more)

• Jon Favreau is directing new ‘Star Wars’ film ‘The Mandalorian & Grogu.’ (more)

• Paramount is developing a new ‘Star Trek’ origin story movie directed by Toby Haynes. (more)

• Tina Fey returns to television as the lead in 'The Four Seasons,' a comedy series she co-created for Netflix. (more)

• Kaitlyn Dever joins the cast of ‘Last of Us’ S2. (more)

• Lukas Gage joins the cast of Paramount’s sequel to horror thriller ‘Smile.’ (more)

• David Brucker is set to write and direct a reimagining of ‘The Blob’ at Warner Bros. Discovery. (more)

• ‘Ahsoka’ S2 is in the works with Dave Filoni at the helm. (more)

• Amazon has officially ordered Ed Brubaker's ‘Criminal,’ a drama series based on his acclaimed graphic novel. (more)

• Paul Thomas Anderson's upcoming untitled film, featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, and Regina Hall, is in development at Warner Bros. (more)

• Rosie Perez is set to star alongside Billy Crystal and Judith Light in Apple TV+'s limited series ‘Before.’ (more)

• Seth Rogen’s Point Grey Pictures signs first-look deal with Universal. (more)

• Zachary Levi joins the cast of Guy Moshe’s ‘Hotel Tehran.’ (more)

✅ Renewed & Canceled ❌

• ‘Our Flag Means Death’ is cancelled after S2 at Max. (more)

• ‘Julia’ is cancelled after S2 at Max. (more)

Business 🤝

• Skydance Media, in talks with Paramount Global's controlling shareholder, National Amusements, may acquire a controlling stake, potentially merging with Paramount and ending the Redstone family's direct control of media giants like CBS and Nickelodeon. (more)

• Amazon's Prime Video is launching a competitive ad tier on Jan. 29, offering lower ad prices than rivals with projected reach to over 100M subscribers. (more)

• Tyler Perry's extensive library of BET series is set to be available for licensing and syndication on various third-party platforms such as SVOD, AVOD, FAST, and broadcast. (more)

• MLB declined Amazon's $150M offer to bail out bankrupt Diamond Sports, aiming to negotiate its own digital rights deal directly with streaming giants like Amazon in 2025. (more)

• Gersh has acquired the digital and alternative departments of A3 Artists Agency. (more)

Other News 🚨

• Voting for the Oscars nominations begins today.

• ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ lead the 2024 SAG Awards nominations amidst a pivotal awards season. (more)

• Jonathan Majors' acclaimed Sundance film 'Magazine Dreams' faces uncertain future with Searchlight following his conviction. (more)

• SAG-AFTRA has signed a groundbreaking deal with Replica Studios for the ethical use of AI voice technology. (more)

What to watch this weekend? 👀

🎥 THEATRICAL

• The Beekeeper: Jason Statham plays an assassin turned peaceful beekeeper, who returns to avenge a friend’s death.

• The Book of Clarence: Biblical comedy-drama written and directed by Jeymes Samuel.

• Mean Girls: Comedy/musical remake of the classic 2004 film of the same name.

📺 STREAMING

• Lift: (Netflix) Kevin Hart’s new heist comedy.

• True Detective: Night Country: (HBO) The fourth season of Nic Pizzolatto’s anthology crime drama.

• The Kitchen: (Netflix) Daniel Kaluuya and Kibwe Tavares’ new dystopian sci-fi thriller.

• Boy Swallows Universe: (Netflix) New limited series based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Trent Dalton.

• Role Play: (Amazon) Action comedy directed by Thomas Vincent.

🏆 AWARDS SEASON

• The 2024 Critics Choice Awards will air on the CW this Sunday evening, Jan. 14th.